“D” start-2-4-2-4-finish.
Coming out we were at 10-12 knots. This is the top end of the #1. The breeze steadily settled as we approached start time.
We set the spinnaker on the way down to the start line. This was a good idea since it demonstrated on crossed line that we quickly fixed.
Lynn was helming, including the start.
Derek on bow pre-start communicating where boats were. Terms used and gestures improved over the process. This was very effective.
Arm points to where the boat he is talking about is.
Arm swinging up and down indicating we are free to swing.
Arm up indicating we cannot swing - overlapped.
Pin was favoured. The plan was hit the pin and flip to port tack and go. We approached the line on Stbd. Above and in front of Rebel. We pinged the line and so we knew where it was. At go we were 8m behind the line - we still had escape room if Rebel luffed us.
Sara, Tanzer 22, got in between us and Rebel. They came in with speed. Rebel looked like they were getting squeezed out at the pin - even though they could have headed up all up.
It looked like Rebel got around the pin and they did not tack but head out to the left.
We worked the course looking for wind and clear lanes.
The wind varied from 10 knots to 2 knots and back again. Pretty steady direction.
At the windward mark Rebel tacked very low and wasn’t making the mark. We went above her in a lane and fetched the mark with a tight pinch. Rebel had to tack low because a little boat, Dove, was on stbd and we were right behind them.
We sailed over Dove and we were right behind Rebel , who was pinching madly, to get around the mark.
We hoisted within say 2 boat lengths of the rounding we hoisted on Stbd. Rebel languished because they gybed at the mark and their spinnaker appears to have not been set up. We put in a gybe and took a few sterns of the white sailors to get to the right side (west) of the course. This move also covered Rebel.
The wind had gone light. 3-4 TWS. We were sailing too deep but I didn’t want to get engaged with Rebel who was further outside us.
We gybed well before Rebel (who blew their gybe), and we headed to the mark directly. We caught the white sail lead boats by sailing a hotter angle (they were pointed at the mark).
The RC shortened the race because of the light wind.
We approached the mark with Rebel on the inside of the white sails and us on the outside.
Rebel took its spinnaker down 5-6 boat lengths from the mark. We carried our until perhaps 2, maybe 1, boat length from the mark.
We did a windward take down. In the light air this was the way to go.
I botched it. I should have
- Raised the gennie
- Reached across the fleet on stbd.
- Squared down and had the pole stowed
- Gybed the boat
- Had the Spin dropped
- Trimmed up the sails for upwind.
I forget to get the pole down first. Derek heroically managed it. But it was slow.
As we rounded, Rebel had lost all speed and was just crawling along after rounding in traffic. We came right up her stern with speed and rolled over top of her. This further interfered with her wind.
I had to grab the tiller from Lynn to put the boat where I wanted it is be, because explaining to Lynn would take too long.
We flipped over after burying Rebel, we got a clear lane and headed to the east side of the harbour, the left.
The wind was starting to fill in. We were moving well. Rebel started to get rolling.
They came with us from well behind but their longer water line put them in a place where when we tack to port we crossed them with only a boat length to spare.
We had Fox, Lickety and Bear, white sail boats, all working their way upwind to the finish line.
Half way up the beat, Bear looked like she was going to force us to tack, to burn us off. But we went into a higher mode and still caught up to her. She went to low mode to get away from us.
Lickety was sailing fast in low mode. We sailed under her in high mode and crossed her. This allowed us to tack for the finish line.
Rebel, coming from way out on the left, came barreling in and crossed the line 9 seconds in front of us. We were second boat across the line overall. So we caught all the white sail boat, having given them a 5 minute head start.
The team was focused during the whole pre-race through post race process.
We had the boat put away as we were coming in to the dock.
Debrief
Derek needs to work on the release at the pole end.. They might be a problem. He cocks the end, lifts it off the spin line, but then drops it back on again, and the end closes on the line, causing him to have to do it again. Practice I expect will solve it.
Hoist the spinnaker before the start. This is an important test.
Bow person on pulpit with hand signals and calling out boats.
Bring VHF radio!